Owen Dodson
Owen Vincent Dodson (November 28, 1914 - June 21, 1983) was an American poet, novelist, and playwright. He was one of the leading African-American poets of his time, associated with the generation of black poets that followed the Harlem Renaissance. Life Born in Brooklyn, New York City, Dodson studied at Bates College, earning a B.A. in 1936, and at the Yale School of Drama, earning an (M.F.A. in 1939. He taught at Howard University, where he was chair of the Drama Department, from 1940 to 1970, and briefly at Spelman College and Atlanta University.Hatch, James V. Sorrow is the Only Faithful One: The Life of Owen Dodson. (Illinois, 1993). James V. Hatch has explained that Dodson "is the product of two parallel forces — the Black experience in America with its folk and urban routes, and a classical humanistic education."Hatch, "The Alchemy of Owen Dodson," Black American Literature Forum, Vol. 14, No. 2. (Summer, 1980), 51. Dodson died from cardiovascular disease at the age of 69. Writing Dodson's poetry varied widely and covered a broad range of subjects, styles, and forms. He wrote at times, though rarely, in black dialect, and at others quoted and alluded to classical poetry and drama. He wrote about sexuality — he was gay, though he was briefly engaged to Priscilla Heath, a Bates classmate — and about religion. He was closely associated with poets W.H. Auden and William Stanley Braithwaite, but his influences were difficult to pin down. In an interview with Charles H. Rowell, he said: :Well, every writer, at the beginning of his career, is influenced by somebody. Surely it's true that the ragtime rhythms of Langston Hughes and the order of Countee Cullen, his devotion to the church, have influenced me. But you know if you listen to Bach and then listen to the early Haydn you can see a cross between the two -- you can see that Bach was influenced by Haydn. Then, if you listen to Haydn at his maturity and then listen to Beethoven, then you can see that Beethoven was influenced at the beginning of his career. And if you listen to the greatest Beethoven and then you listen to the early Brahms, you can see that the early Brahms was influenced by the later Beethoven. Then he became his own style. He got his own idea of life. You admire your father, and you imitate his gestures and his stance -- the way he talks, the way he holds his glass, the way he kisses his wife. There is something about him that influences you. But then as you grow older, you begin to get your own style, your own class, your own idea of what is going on. Oh, yes, it's true that Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen influenced me.Rowell, Charles H. "An Interview with Owen Dodson," Callaloo 20,3 (1997). In drama, he cited Henrik Ibsen as an influence, though again as an initial relationship later to be reworked and half-forgotten. Dodson's two novels are generally considered to be autobiographical. Recognition Dodson is one of the subjects of Hilton Als' 1996 book The Women; according to Als, Dodson was his mentor and lover. Poems from The Confession Stone were set to music by composer Robert Fleming (1968). Publications Poetry *''Powerful Long Ladder''. New York: Farrar, Straus, 1940. *''The Confession Stone: Song cycles''. London: P. Breman, 1970. *''The Harlem Book of the Dead'' (by James Van Der Zee, Owen Dodson, & Camille Billops). Dobbs Ferry, NY: Morgan & Morgan, 1978. Plays *''Bayou Legend''. 1978; Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2002. *''Divine Comedy''. Alexander, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2002. *''Till Victory Is Won'' *''New World A-Coming''. York?: 1940s; Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2001. *''Amistad''. Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2001. *''The Shining Town''. Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2001. *''Freedom the Banner''. Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2001. *''Lord Nelson, Naval Hero''. Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2001. *''Garden of Time''. 1939; Alexander, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2002. *'' ' Til Victory is Won''. Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2002. *''The Confession Stone'' (1960) *''Everybody Join Hands''. Alexander, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2002. Novels *''Boy at the Window: A novel''. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Young, 1951. *''Come Home Early, Child''. 1967; New York: Popular Library, 1977. Anthologized *''Kaleidoscope: Poems by American Negro writers'' (edited by Robert Hayden). New York: Harcourt, Brace, & World, 1967. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Owen Dodson, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, July 10, 2014. See also *List of U.S. poets *List of English-language playwrights References *Joe Weixlmann, "The Rungs of a Powerful Long Ladder: An Owen Dodson Bibliography", Black American Literature Forum 14 (Summer 1980): 60–68. Notes External links ;Poems *"Poem for Pearl's Dancers" at African American Registry. *"Grand Central Station" *"The Verdict" ;Books *Owen Dodson at Amazon.com ;About *Owen Dodson in the Encyclopædia Britannica *Owen Dodson in the Oxford Companion to African American Literature *Owen Dodson, Howard University Legends, English Department *Extending the Ladder: A Remembrance of Owen Dodson (excerpt) *Owen Dodson: An African American Classic at the Beltway Poetry Quarterly. Category:1914 births Category:1983 deaths Category:African-American writers Category:American dramatists and playwrights Category:American novelists Category:American poets Category:Bates College alumni Category:Deaths from cardiovascular disease Category:LGBT African Americans Category:People from Brooklyn Category:Writers from New York City Category:Yale School of Drama alumni Category:Clark Atlanta University faculty Category:African American poets Category:English-language poets Category:20th-century poets Category:Poets Category:People from New York City